Middle East
Debate between Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Yvette Cooper(4 days, 19 hours ago)
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Yvette Cooper
China and India are not part of the multinational maritime mission. We have been doing two things to maintain the principle of freedom of navigation. With France, we have been developing the multilateral mission. There are other countries ready to provide assets, some of which have been set out and some of which will be announced in due course as they are needed. We have also convened countries—including the 40 that I convened before Easter—to raise the consensus around and continue to defend the principle of freedom of navigation. The Chinese ambassador also attended a similar event in Paris, chaired by President Macron and the Prime Minister, so we are engaging with those countries on the principle of freedom of navigation, but the maritime mission is a much narrower group of countries, predominantly—but not entirely—European.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)
Once again, British citizens taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla—a peaceful aid mission to break the illegal blockade of Gaza—have been severely mistreated by the Israeli Government. This is beyond dispute, with video evidence of a far-right Israeli Minister mocking activists while they are bound and on their knees, as the Foreign Secretary referred to earlier. The Italian Government have opened an investigation into the incident and the EU is expected to vote on sanctions next Monday; I am sure the Foreign Secretary agrees that British nationals deserve the same protections and robust response. Will she therefore confirm her earlier response that the offending Minister remains under sanctions, and will she set out what further actions will be taken specifically to stand up for those British citizens?
Yvette Cooper
Like my hon. Friend, I was appalled to see how people were being treated in that video. It did not meet the most basic standards of humanity and respect for other human beings. It is particularly shocking that not only was that mistreatment happening, but it was being promoted and flaunted by an Israeli Government Minister. I can confirm that the Minister, Ben-Gvir, is sanctioned by the UK Government; we were one of the first countries to sanction him, and we will continue to do so. The behaviour shown in that video evidence, as well as other things that he has said and done, provides clear justification as to why we are right to do so.
Police Accountability
Debate between Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Yvette Cooper(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Yvette Cooper
I thank the hon. Member for the important points she has made. She is right that lack of clarity, uncertainty, and the long and damaging delays that we have had in the system benefit no one, but she is also right to say that part of the sensitivity around this case—part of its long-standing backdrop—is the much lower confidence in policing among black Londoners and the different levels of confidence around race. That was highlighted as part of the Casey review, and it is why the Met police have set out a race action plan, but both the Met commissioner and the Mayor of London have been clear that there is significant additional work to do. If any measures do not have the confidence of all communities that the police serve, that will ultimately undermine the crucial principle of policing by consent.
We continue to work to ensure that some of the measures recommended by the Casey review that have national implications, as well as the Angiolini review, are taken forward as part of this package. Those include issues with vetting and misconduct processes—it is important that we make progress on those measures, as well as on some of the issues that arise from the accountability review. We will also ensure that all communities are involved in the way in which measures are taken forward.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)
The fatal shooting of Chris Kaba caused pain to his family and considerable fear and anger, not only in my community but across London. This House must understand that the concerns being raised are not anti-police, but pro-accountability. We must respect our legal processes, and it is extremely rare that police officers ever face such prosecution. The Home Secretary clearly agrees that while police officers work under exceptional pressures, any loss of life following police contact must be properly investigated, so is she concerned by comments from the Metropolitan police commissioner regarding disciplinary processes, including that firearms officers should be exempt from criminal charges over fatal shootings? That would do nothing to rebuild broken trust and confidence, particularly within the black community, who have been disproportionately impacted. Following the Angiolini and Casey reviews, is less accountability the route that the head of the Met should be asking for?
Yvette Cooper
I thank my hon. Friend for her question—as I said, she has worked hard to represent her communities. It is clear that there must be a proper framework for legal accountability for police forces and individual officers. There must always be investigations where there is loss of life following police contact—that is always appropriate. Although we want investigations to take place much more swiftly, all the police chiefs whom I have talked to as part of this work feel strongly that there must be a clear accountability system, which provides confidence to communities and to police officers who make difficult decisions in the line of duty. Police, Parliament and the public will recognise that we need to have the confidence of communities, as well as police officers who are confident that they will be able to do their job.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Yvette Cooper(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Yvette Cooper
Police and crime commissioners have a crucial role to play as part of the mission to reduce serious violence, as do local authorities. The hon. Lady is right that local partnerships will best be able to target young people who are at greatest risk, and ensure that proper prevention programmes are in place. As we know, many of those services have been hollowed out over a long period, and it is important that we have partnership working to rebuild them. I hope that we can work cross-party on that—not just with police and crime commissioners but with MPs across the country.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) (Lab)